Police seek father's identity

Local police said yesterday they are still trying to determine who fathered a boy delivered by a 13-year-old girl in the city last week.

Since the age of consent in China is 14, the investigation could lead to criminal charges.

"We are doing a DNA test on the newborn. According to the check, we can tell who the father is," said an officer working at a police station in Songjiang District's Xinqiao Town. He declined to release more details about the case.

Several local media outlets have speculated that a man who has been living with the girl's mother for one year is the father, but police say they are investigating more than one man for possibly fathering the baby.

The young mother, surnamed Zhou, is a middle school student in Songjiang District. Zhou's mother said they didn't even realize she was pregnant until she went into labor last Monday.

"Since Zhou is always fat, the family members didn't notice any changes to her body," said Zhou's mother. "She just has a better appetite these days. She goes to school and takes physical education courses as usual. She is still a child, how can we relate her fatness to pregnancy?"

The family is now worried that the girl will have trouble returning to school and her normal life.

"We are so worried about her future. Others may be prejudiced toward and look down upon her," the mother said. "If so, my daughter should change school to avoid trouble."

Zhou's mother said the teenager has been moody since giving birth and has refused to talk to anyone since being discharged from the hospital.

The family says it is now deciding whether to raise the boy themselves or put him up for adoption.

Legal experts said it is a crime for anyone to have a sexual affair with a girl under the age of 14 and if the man is over the age of 18 he faces a sentence ranging from three to 10 years behind bars.

"If the man is a minor, he can be sent for compulsory education through labor for three to 10 years," said Liu Chunquan, a local lawyer. Medical experts and local teachers say teenagers need better sex education to protect themselves.

"Mothers, sometimes as young as 11, are admitted to our hospital every month," said Chen Daning, a spokeswoman for Shanghai International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital. "Many youngsters lack basic sexual education."

Last month, the Jinshan District Prosecutors' Office charged a man suspected of raping his 12-year-old niece.

Police said the girl didn't listen to warnings from her mother and grandmother not to sleep beside the uncle.